Wanda Cinema to take over Legendary Pictures for $5.7 billion

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese tycoon Wang Jianlin's Wanda Cinema Line Corp <002739.SZ>, the country's biggest cinemas operator, said on Thursday it plans to acquire movie-making affiliate Wanda Media for 37.2 billion yuan (4 billion pounds) in cash and shares. Wanda Cinema, whose parent Dalian Wanda Group acquired U.S. film studio Legendary Entertainment in January for about $3.5 billion, said in a filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange that it now aims to acquire Wanda Media, the current owner of Legendary Pictures. The company also said it plans to raise up to 8 billion yuan in a private placement of shares to help fund the building of theatres and replenish working capital. "The completed transaction will help the listed company set a global strategy in consolidating film assets at home and abroad," it said. In 2012 Dalian Wanda bought AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc <AMC.N>, North America's second-largest cinema chain, for $2.6 billion. Wanda Cinema's shares will remain suspended since a halt on February 24. (The story is refiled to remove repetition of text) (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore and Meg Shen in Hong Kong; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

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